Chemical analysis tests are commonly utilized by policemen, parole officers, and other law enforcement personnel to determine if a person has been drinking. Often, the tests are used as screening devices to qualitatively indicate the presence of alcohol. Typically, a breath sample, or a sample of a bodily fluid, such as saliva, or blood, is taken and then chemically analyzed for alcohol content. If it is found that alcohol is present in the sample, additional, more sophisticated tests can be performed in clinical or lab environments to measure the actual amount or percentage of alcohol in the body.
In these types of chemical analysis tests, the test is commonly designed to be performed on a single type of sample. For example, tests utilizing breath samples are frequently used by police officers and highway patrol officers to test for drunk driving, while tests utilizing saliva or blood samples are often utilized in clinical environments and laboratory settings. In situations where it is inconvenient or difficult to obtain the required fluid, such as testing performed in the field, or in situations where the person under test has a legal right to choose the means of testing, typically breath analysis, urinalysis, or blood testing, there are often no readily available alternative or convenient testing means. Additionally, it is often necessary for law enforcement offices to stock several different types of chemical analysis tests for the laboratory and field environments, as well as for each type of biological fluid which may be tested.
Further, such tests often require heat or diffusion methods to perform the chemical analysis, thereby increasing both the mechanical complexity of the test device, as well as the amount of time necessary to perform the test and detect the results. In addition, many test devices require comparatively large samples of biological fluids which can be difficult to obtain in some circumstances. These complex equipment requirements and involved chemical analysis processes often prevent testing in the field where speed, portability, and simplicity are foremost concerns.